Wednesday, February 27, 2008

SPÄTZLI - "PRESTO PASTA NIGHT" 1ST B'DAY

Yay, this weekend, Ruth's "Presto Pasta Nights" is one year old!!! Wow, time flies by ever so quickly...

So what is this all about, you might ask me. Well, here's what you have to know:

Every week, Ruth at "Once Upon A Feast" from Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) organizes an event that takes place weekly, on Fridays. It's called "Presto Pasta Nights" (see infos and rules). The 52nd edition is already on it's way and as you have maybe guessed, it's all about pasta!

Ruth's aim is to host a weekly round-up of the recipes that we, foodbloggers, have created/made and want to share with others via her great blog. Isn't it an awesome idea? Well, get cooking, folks!

I love foreign or exotic foods, yet my passion for the Swiss Cuisine has never died. I have much admiration for our unique gastronomic heritage and I don't want our regional culinary traditions to disappear. Therefore, I fervently try to collect recipes and to learn how to make as many Swiss dishes as possible...

Switzerland has a lot to offer and, although, most of our specialities might be too humble or too much rooted in the countryside for the gourmet palate of certain people. Anyhow, it is nonetheless a culinary patrimony that we have to keep and nurture for the future generations worldwide. It has as much worth as any other cuisine!

"Spätzli" (pronounce "shpates-lee") could be qualified as "farmers' pasta“. It is a typical Swiss-German (Eastern Switzerland) speciality which is somehow comparable to the Southern German, Austrian, Italian (from Bolzano) or French (from Alsace) “Spätzle” (both being chunky and basic types of egg pasta/dumpling noodles). The main difference resides in their shape. "Spätzle" are very long and thin and "Spätzli" are small/short and rather thick .

Originally, they were meant to give a sufficiently nourishing meal for the countryside people who worked hard during the day and had only simple goods/ingredients (milk, flour, eggs, cheese, onions, apples, etc…) to cook with.

This dish is now very well spread in all regions of Switzerland and, as it is quite versatile, the original recipe has since long been adapted to our modern needs and tastes. They can be paired with just about anything and presented in many different ways.

“Spätzli” is one of my favorite Swiss foods as it’s simple to make, so scrumptious and soul-warming!!! It is maybe a very basic dish, but on the other side, it is so compelling! I especially recommend you to eat this tasty and hearty speciality on grey winter days when you are in need for comfort food, while cocooning at home…

Method:1. Mix the flours and salt together in a bowl.2. Whisk the eggs together with the milk and water.3. Pour the egg/milk/water mixture into the bowl containing the flours and salt. Beat well until the pastry is shiny and makes bubbles.4. Cover the bowl and reserve at room temperature for around half an hour.5. Put water to boil (3 liters minimum) and add a tablespoon salt.6. Once the water is boiling, bring the heat down and let the water simmer gently.7. Sieve the pastry into the boiling water (through a medium-holed sieve) helping yourself with a spatula. Proceed in batches.8. When the “Spätzli” are floating on the surface of the water, take them out with a perforated skimmer.9. Place the cooked “Spätzli” in a heatproof bowl or dish, add some butter, mix well and keep warm in the oven. Remarks:If you can't find "Durum Flour" anywhere, then here's an alternate recipe: "Plain FlourSpätzli" or replace the flour mixture by 250 plain white flour and 50g cream of wheat.The pastry should not be too runny; it should be thickish and viscous. Your arm should ache while beating the mixture.Once the “Spätzli” have been cooked, you can add a little butter (stops them from sticking together).Serving suggestions:"Spätzli" are widely appreciated as an accompaniment (side dish) to wild meat/venison served with chestnuts and bilberry jam.They are also fine when spiced up (curry powder, garlic powder,tomatoe purée, pesto, etc…), enriched (cheese, dry meat, spinach, etc…) or prepared as a sweet dish.You could also enrich the basic pastry with spices/ingredients (cheese, herbs, ground meat, etc…) as long as it’s consistency is still correct.They can be used in the same way as pasta or served as main course when oven-baked like a gratin, and can be eaten either “al-dente” or slightly fried in butter, until nice and golden.

I've been wanting to make these for the longest time, but the strange method has always scared me a bit... maybe eventualy I will venture myself into sieve pushing pasta... unless, again! I invite myself at your place! LOL ...yours look delicious!I'm spending a month in Belgium this summer, is that anything close to Switzerland? LOL LOL LOL

RUTH DANIELS: Thanks, Ruth! I'm very excited at the idea of browsing through the PPN roundup this Friday!

VIBI: Yes, without the "real thing" (the Spätzli machine/sieve), it is more complicated... Otherwise, you can always drop 1/2 teaspoons at a time of the mixture into the water. Be my guest! Well, Belgium isn't all that close, but then again, if you are hungry for good food, it isn't all that far either LOL ;-P!!!

Dear Rosa, I love this recipe. I never knew how to make Spatzle. When I was in college, my German roommate would make Spatzle to get a reminder of home. The spatzle looked more like spatzli because we did not have the right tool to make long strings. Thank you for the wonderful memory of spatzle, and now I can try to make it on my own now.

Great post. Betty Bossi is THE authority. I've been living with a Swiss/German border girl for 17 years, and we LOVE the Swiss food traditions. While we would never cut corners on fondue or rösti, there are actually a few good packaged spätzlis available. I prefer to spend my time on a nice homemade veal demi-glace for the pasta.